The present invention relates to a power plug locking device that locks a power plug to an object, such as a vehicle, and prevents unauthorized removal of the power plug from the object.
Over these recent years, consumers have become conscious of environmental problems. Thus, vehicles that emit less carbon dioxide such as hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles have become popular. Such vehicles are driven by a battery-powered motor. When such a vehicle travels over a long distance and the state of charge of the battery becomes low, the battery must be charged (refer to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 9-161898).
The charging of a battery involves an electrolytic reaction of compounds and ions in battery cells of the battery. This lengthens the charging time. Thus, when a user leaves the vehicle while the battery is being charged, someone may remove the power plug to steal electricity. Hence, power plug locking devices have been developed to prevent unauthorized removal of the power plug from a vehicle.
One type of such a power plug locking device includes a structure for manually switching the locking device from an unlock state to a lock state. This allows the user to switch the locking device to a lock state only when necessary and prevents early wear of components. However, such structure requires an operation unit operated to switch the locking device to a lock state. This enlarges the locking device.